The legal fight over a staked access corridor to the Ring of Fire mineral deposits goes back into the courtroom in a few months.
KWG Resources reported Jan. 27 that it has received an order from the Ontario Court of Appeal to challenge a decision by an Ontario Divisional Court regarding use of surface rights on its mining claims.
On July 30, the court set aside a decision by the Ontario Mining and Lands Commissioner that denied Cliffs Natural Resources an easement for a road in order to have overland access to its Black Thor chromite deposit. Cliffs’ proposed road would run atop some of the mining claims of its bitter rival, KWG.
The court found no evidence that a road would interfere with KWG’s exploration since the claims were staked with the intent of building a 330-kilometre long railroad into the James Bay region.
In a news release, KWG said it expects to file its notice of appeal by January 30, after which it would have a further 30-day opportunity to perfect its appeal.
The respondent, Cliffs, would be able to file its response 60 days later.
KWG expects the hearing date to be sometime in early summer.
"We are very gratified that this issue will be revisited by the Ontario Court of Appeal,” said KWG president Frank Smeenk. “Many of our exploration industry professionals were left wondering how to protect their investors' interests if claim staking was no longer to be available for the exclusive exploitation of a discovery. We look forward to the Court of Appeal clarifying this issue, which goes to the root of Canada's world-renowned mining laws and exploration industry leadership.’
